Sunday, May 30, 2010

MLS History: Longest Unbeaten & Winless Streaks

Bumped and updated (through the 2009 season), because the 2010 LA Galaxy are on the verge of history. Counting the end of last season, they are currently unbeaten in their last 14 regular season games (already 4th all time) and 18 games overall (2nd all time).

As always, shootouts (1996-99) are counted as draws.

Most Games Unbeaten - REGULAR SEASON ONLY

Games

Record

First Game

Last Game

1

Columbus

19

9-0-10

2004-07-03

2005-04-02

2

DC United

16

11-0-5

1996-09-17

1997-06-14

3

Los Angeles

15

14-0-1

1997-09-07

1998-05-17

4

DC United

14

10-0-4

2006-05-13

2006-07-22

4

San Jose

14

11-0-3

2005-07-20

2005-10-15

6

DC United

13

9-0-4

2007-08-05

2007-10-13

7

Chicago

12

6-0-6

2008-10-23

2009-05-28

7

Colorado

12

8-0-4

1998-09-16

1999-05-27

7

Dallas

12

6-0-6

1999-03-20

1999-06-05

7

Kansas City

12

10-0-2

2000-03-25

2000-05-27

7

Los Angeles

12

10-0-2

1996-04-13

1996-06-26

7

Los Angeles

12

7-0-5

1999-10-09

2000-05-20

7

Miami

12

9-0-3

2001-04-21

2001-07-04

7

New England

12

8-0-4

2004-10-16

2005-06-11

7

San Jose

12

7-0-5

2001-04-28

2001-07-04

16

Chicago

11

10-0-1

1998-05-16

1998-07-04

16

Chicago

11

5-0-6

2007-09-08

2008-04-12

16

Chivas USA

11

7-0-4

2007-08-18

2007-10-11

16

DC United

11

8-0-3

1999-07-25

1999-09-25

16

Houston

11

8-0-3

2007-06-03

2007-07-22

16

Houston

11

8-0-3

2009-04-11

2009-06-20

22

DC United

10

8-0-2

1998-07-02

1998-08-29

22

Houston

10

4-0-6

2006-05-27

2006-07-22

22

Houston

10

5-0-5

2008-08-31

2009-03-21

22

Los Angeles

10

2-0-8

2009-04-11

2009-06-06

Columbus has held the top spot for nearly six years now. The Crew, or the Arsenal of MLS if you like, only managed to win fewer than half of the 19 games in their streak. They were the best team in what was probably the most parity filled MLS season ever, featuring good form from many current less regarded players like Jon Busch and Kyle Martino. They then blew it in the 2004 playoffs, losing to the Revs in one of the more memorable series in playoff history. The opener saw Avery John scoring the only goal in his Revolution career from long distance, in front of a horrible crowd of 5,000 people due to the Red Sox hosting game 1 of the World Series at the same time. Then of course, the Crew blew it by missing two penalties in the home leg. However, it definitely seemed to me that DC was the hotter team entering the playoffs (they had just signed Christian Gomez) and I didn't expect them to get to the cup any way.

Most Games Unbeaten - ALL COMPETITIONS

Games

Record

First Game

Last Game

1

DC United

24

18-0-6

1996-09-17

1997-06-14

2

Columbus

15

7-0-8

2004-07-24

2004-10-16

2

New England

15

9-0-6

2004-10-16

2005-06-11

4

DC United

14

12-0-4

2006-05-13

2006-07-22

5

Chicago

13

9-0-4

1998-10-01

1999-05-08

5

DC United

13

11-0-2

1998-07-02

1998-08-29

5

Miami

13

10-0-3

2001-04-21

2001-07-04

5

San Jose

13

8-0-5

2001-04-28

2001-07-04

9

Chicago

12

11-0-1

1998-05-16

1998-07-06

9

Dallas

12

6-0-6

1999-03-20

1999-06-05

9

DC United

12

9-0-3

2004-10-02

2005-04-09

9

Kansas City

12

10-0-2

2000-03-25

2000-05-27

9

Los Angeles

12

10-0-2

1996-04-13

1996-06-26

14

Chicago

11

5-0-6

2009-03-21

2009-05-28

14

Chivas USA

11

7-0-4

2007-08-18

2007-10-11

14

DC United

11

8-0-3

1999-08-08

1999-09-28

14

Houston

11

6-0-5

2008-08-31

2008-10-18

14

Houston

11

8-0-3

2009-04-11

2009-06-20

14

Los Angeles

11

6-0-5

2000-03-18

2000-05-20

14

Los Angeles

11

2-0-9

2009-04-07

2009-06-06

14

New York

11

9-0-2

2000-06-14

2000-07-25

22

Chicago

10

4-0-6

2007-09-08

2007-11-01

22

Columbus

10

7-0-3

2009-06-27

2009-08-18

22

Dallas

10

4-0-6

2005-10-05

2006-04-29

22

DC United

10

8-0-2

2007-08-18

2007-09-29

22

Houston

10

4-0-6

2006-05-27

2006-07-22

22

Kansas City

10

7-0-3

2004-06-05

2004-07-24

DC's streak consists of the last two games of the 1996 regular season, six games in the playoffs, two games in the US Open Cup, and then the first fourteen games of the 1997 season. They won the double along the way, with Raul Diaz Arce scoring 19 goals in those 24 games. Jaime Moreno "only" scored 14 times. They ended the streak with a bang fitting its status, losing 6-1 at KC for the worst loss in team history. KC was the only team in the league they didn't beat during the 24 games.

Most Games Winless - REGULAR SEASON ONLY

Games

Record

First Game

Last Game

1

New York

19

0-15-4

1999-05-22

1999-09-05

2

Real Salt Lake

18

0-16-2

2005-08-10

2006-05-06

3

Real Salt Lake

15

0-6-9

2006-09-23

2007-06-17

4

Columbus

13

0-7-6

1996-05-15

1996-07-20

4

Columbus

13

0-7-6

2006-06-10

2006-08-16

4

New York

13

0-11-2

2009-05-16

2009-08-15

7

Los Angeles

12

0-6-6

2008-06-21

2008-09-13

7

Toronto

12

0-8-4

2007-07-07

2007-09-29

9

Chivas USA

11

0-9-2

2005-05-14

2005-07-02

9

San Jose

11

0-5-6

1999-03-20

1999-05-27

11

Colorado

10

0-7-3

2007-06-02

2007-08-04

11

Dallas

10

0-7-3

2005-07-02

2005-09-10

11

DC United

10

0-6-4

2002-07-04

2002-08-25

11

Kansas City

10

0-8-2

1998-09-17

1999-04-28

11

Los Angeles

10

0-8-2

2006-05-06

2006-06-24

11

Miami

10

0-7-3

1998-05-16

1998-07-18

11

New England

10

0-8-2

1999-07-11

1999-09-04

11

Real Salt Lake

10

0-8-2

2005-05-21

2005-07-16

11

San Jose

10

0-4-6

2004-09-08

2005-04-16

11

Tampa Bay

10

0-9-1

2001-04-28

2001-06-16

No points for guessing this one. The 1999 Metrostars have been beaten to death over the years, as we've always heard tales about how wretched they were.